The MotoAmerica Superbike championship at PittRace qualifying sessions are now complete. Here are the in class results.
Superbike
Bobby Fong (Wrench Motorcycles) secures a surprise pole position in Medallia Superbike. Fong will start up front in all three races this weekend. The first occurring later this afternoon. Fong was dominant in the session finishing nearly 6 tenths ahead of championship leader Jake Gagne (Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha). Gagne will have some ground to make up if Fong is able to maintain this pace in the races. Mathew Scholtz (Westby Racing) secured P3 in qualifying ahead of Richie Escalante (Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR).
Joseph Giannotto did not set a time in Q2 moving him to the back of the grid. JD Beach finished P10 in his debut for the 2023 Yamaha team. We will see if his pace improves over the weekend as he gets more and more acquainted with the bike. The session was otherwise uneventful.
Supersport
In a packed field of 37 riders. Stefano Mesa (Tytlers Cycle Racing) finished on pole setting a best 1m45.746. Q2 times were vastly an improvement over Q1 with the majority of riders running fastest on the day. Q2 occurred in the morning however track temperatures were rapidly increasing towards the end of the session. Pace really start to pick up towards the second half of the session. Teagg Hobbs (Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR) ran second fastest behind Mesa by a margin of 0.097 seconds.
Championship leader Xavi Fores (HSBK Warhorse Ducati) again did not finish on pole and settle for 3rd. While we expected him to be a front runner. Fores may just being trying to bring the championship home by finishing in the points to maintain his lead with only a few more rounds to go this season. Time will tell come race time if he picks up the pace to extending his race win count this season. In an impressive finish Jake Lewis (Disrupt Racing) finished P4. Lewis was 4 tenths off of pole position. There is opportunity to strike for Lewis’ first Supersport podium of the season later this afternoon.
Twins Cup
Rocco Landers (Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering) finished on top of the table. The races this weekend are a must win for Rocco if he wants to stay in the championship race for Twins. He will be gunning for another championship in the class for the remainder of the season. Blake Davis split the Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering bikes finishing ahead of Gus Rodio. Kayla Yaakov (The WagBar MP13 Racing Team) finished P4 on her return to the series after a tour in Europe. 3 riders did not complete the session. The class will field 31 bikes on the grid for today’s race.
Junior Cup
Avery Dreher (Bad Boys Racing) returns to the top of the table securing pole ahead of Rossi Moor (Fairium NGRT- Gray Area) by 3 tenths. The top 4 in class were separated by 4 tenths making the race at the front a tight one. Hayden Bicknese rounded out the top 3. Moor will continue to push after missing out on 75 points earlier this season due to technical issues. Dreher leads the championship by 26 points ahead of Max Van who is 5 points ahead of Hayden Bicknese. The championship lead isn’t at stake for race 1 but the overall points scored for the weekend could have implications on the championship standings. Junior cup is the first race this afternoon.
Royal Enfield
Mikayla Moor once again finished on pole. At this point the races are a formality as Moore only needs to score 3 points between two races to clinch the championship. She may be crowned champion this afternoon if she continues to finish in the points. P2 went to Crystal Martinez secured P2 ahead of second place championship sitting Sonya Lloyd.